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| Tuesday,
March 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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‘Political hand’ in contract allotment Ludhiana, March 24 While the officials of the department claim that there was no hanky-panky in the allotment of the contracts, some contractors, who were in a race, allege that these were given to some persons under the patronage of a minister. The PWD had recently invited tenders for three roads in the district—the Ludhiana-Sidhwan Bet road, the Khanna-Malerkotla road and the Ahmedgarh-Chhpaar-Latala-Burundi road. March 12 was the last date for receiving applications. Mr Attar Singh Chadha, a Raikot-based contractor, who had applied for the Ahmedgarh-Chhpaar-Latala-Burundi road contract, a project of more than Rs 1 crore, alleged that PWD officials did not issue a tender form to him although he had submitted his cumulative deposit receipt (CDR) of Rs 1,60,000 drawn on the Oriental Bank of Commerce with the officials on March 11 before 2:30 pm. He alleged that while he and some other contractors were not issued the tender forms, an official of the department had called contractors, who were otherwise issued forms, to his office on March 12 and had requested them to withdraw the forms as there was pressure from a minister to allot the contract to a particular contractor. Similar allegations were levelled by another contractor, Mr Harjinder Singh. Mr Chadha said he would not bow under political pressure and vowed to fight for his rights. However, Mr Gurnam Singh Azad, Executive Engineer, Construction Division-I of the PWD, denied the allegations. He denied any political pressure from any quarter and claimed that a transparent and set procedure was adopted in allotting the contracts. Mr Azad said since many contractors applied for the work and only one had to be selected, such allegations were common. |
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Rs 20-crore scam in city Ludhiana, March 24 According to sources, at least an amount of Rs 20 crore is involved in the scam. The only difference is that the person, who has kept the money, has not refused to pay it back, but has only delayed the payments. Sources said the person involved in the scam was actually a businessman running cloth and hotel business. He would organise monthly ‘kametis’ involving crores of rupees. These were organised in small groups having at least 10 members. He is learnt to have told the contributors that he may not be able to repay their money on scheduled time. He is also reported to have refused to pay extra amount that would accrue to a contributor in due course of time. The ‘kameti’ business runs parallel to the illegal financial market in Ludhiana. People make monthly contributions in small groups. The contributions range from Rs 100 per month to even Rs one lakh per month. In some exceptional cases, the monthly amount is said to be even Rs one crore. In the current case, the said person had been organising ‘kametis’ for several years. However, he would make the payment on scheduled time. This helped him to create huge assets in real estate. After the flow of money stopped, he reportedly refused to make the payments on time, thus worrying hundreds of contributors. Since the business is not legal, the contributors cannot even lodge a complaint. They have no other option, but to wait and hope that some day he will return their money. |
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CM bails out DCC president Ludhiana, March 24 After Mr Johar and Mr Birmi were appointed ministers, Mr Bawa had flashed letters of protest to the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, Ms Ambika Soni, Ms Mohsina Kidwai, the PCC President, Mr H.S. Hanspal and the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. He was asked to explain his position by Mr Hanspal. However, Mr Hanspal reportedly exonerated him of all charges. Sources said it was not Mr Hanspal, but the Chief Minister who favoured a lenient view on the issue. This has once again put to rest all speculations about the possible removal of Mr Bawa from the post of the DCC president. Mr Bawa was appointed president of the DCC, Ludhiana, in February, 2002, when Mr Surinder Dawer relinquished the post after being nominated party candidate from Ludhiana East. Since then Mr Bawa continues to be the acting president of the DCC. His appointment is yet to be confirmed. Mr Bawa belongs to the camp loyal to the Chief Minister. Mr Bawa had led a campaign at the time of the appointment of the new PCC President. He had led a team of several district presidents to Delhi and met Ms Sonia Gandhi, urging her not to replace Capt Amarinder Singh. The party is reportedly trying to seek a rapprochement between the two factions to provide a semblance of unity. |
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CBSE introduces course on ‘life skills’ Ludhiana, March 24 The course will deal with the need to have flexibility in the attitude of students and improvement in their self-esteem. Topics related to population education such as demographic transition, gender equality and population stabilisation are also likely to be part of syllabus of the new subject. The course will also aim at bridging the communication gap among children, teachers and parents. The details of the subject were discussed at a conference of the principals of CBSE schools held at Dehra Dun late last year. The books for the course will be ready for circulation in another week and the subject will be introduced only for Class VI students this year. However, every year a new class will be covered for the subject from next session onwards. A circular regarding this from Mr G. Balasubramanian, Director (Academics), CBSE, has recently reached a few local CBSE affiliated schools. Ms Paramjit Kaur, Principal of BCM Arya Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, said the circular mentioned that the aim of the course was to make children more adaptive to social changes. She said the board authorities also felt that kids were under much stress due to stiff competition and the course would help them find ways to cope with it. She said it was a good step taken by the CBSE in view of several cases of mental break down among the youth after they failed to clear their entrance tests to course of their desire. She said high expectations from parents, schoolteachers and relatives not only for higher classes but even at junior level added to their stress. A course on the subject had become a need to help the children improve mentally and spiritually, she added. Responding to the global changes in the field of information technology, the CBSE, through its website, has also floated information regarding the introduction of a new course on ‘multimedia and web technology’ as an elective subject for Classes XI and XII. It has been stated that the syllabus for the subject will soon be available on the site. Schools interested in introducing the course have been asked to send their applications to the board. However, principals of many schools, including Guru Nanak Public School, Kundan Vidya Mandir and St Thomas Senior Secondary School, were found to be without any information regarding the new courses. Ms Neena Khanna, Principal, KVM, said she did not receive any circular regarding new courses. She, however, said she was introducing music, fine arts and psychology for students of plus one students in humanities stream. She said courses in entrepreneurship and bio-technology would be introduced as optional course for the students of commerce and non-medial stream, respectively. |
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Residents seek more trains’ halt Doraha, March 24 According to Dr Joginder Singh, a former Chief Medical Officer and resident of Doraha, “The town has a population of about 25,000 and a large number of labourers from Bihar, UP, MP, and Rajasthan also visited this place. The town, which also has a Combat Engineering Training Centre, is surrounded by many villages having a population of nearly 20,000. But, the number of trains halting at the local railway station was not proportionate to the density of population here.” There was no direct train for Mumbai, he said. “The express train running through Doraha has been diverted via Dhuri and Patiala under some pressure. Moreover, stoppage must be provided to train Nos. 2925 and 2926, Pashcham Express. There is no night train from Delhi side and even from Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi and Itarsi. The residents want that the Chattisgarh Express should get a halt here. The train No. 8238 already has a stoppage here,” he said. He said the Amritsar-Dehradun passenger train (No 329 and 330) earlier had a stoppage at Doraha, but the facility had been withdrawn due to some reason. “This train has stoppage at every station beyond Khanna and Ludhiana. This is a passenger train and should also stop here,” he added. According to the retired CMO, “Copies of the request letter have been sent to the Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala division; the Union Minister of Railways; the General Manager, Northern Railways, New Delhi; Mr Lajpat Rai, Member Parliament; and Mr Tej Parkash Singh, Transport Minister, Punjab. He said a personal request had also been made to the DRM, Ambala, for introducing this service. The non-stoppage of these trains was causing inconvenience to the passengers as they had to go to Ludhiana or Khanna in order to catch these trains, he said. |
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Pandits
condemn J&K massacre Ludhiana, March 24 The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, Ludhiana, today held an emergency meeting to condemn the killings and condole the death of 24 persons in the incident. The meeting also expressed sympathies with the bereaved families. The sabha members urged the Government of India to take strong measures against terrorism in Kashmir. They also demanded that the people staying back in Kashmir should be provided adequate security as they were continuously being made soft targets. Meanwhile, the Punjab unit of the Shiv Sena has also condemned the incident and demanded the dismissal of the Mufti government. In a joint statement, the Shiv Sena leaders, including state general secretary Pawan Sharma district unit president Krishen Sharma and coordinator Suresh Manchanda have expressed grief and shock over the incident. They have also demanded that the families of the victims should be provided a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each. A senior BJP leader and Member Parliament, Lala Lajpat Rai, also condemned the killings of innocent people in Kashmir. In a statement here today, Mr Rai demanded the dismissal of the Mufti government sand and said the law and order situation had deteriorated in Kashmir. He demanded adequate security for Pandits. |
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Goods worth lakhs burnt Ludhiana, March 24 Firemen on the spot said the fire was spreading like anything as the material stored in the factory was highly inflammable. It took them more than an hour to control it. The workers of the factory also did their bit by sorting out the burning and the unburnt material quickly. The factory manufactures cardboard and other material required for packing various goods. Fortunately, no worker was hurt as the workers could see the smoke coming out from a portion and ran out. The cause of the fire was said to be a short circuit. |
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PSEB staff to stage dharna Ludhiana, March 24 He said the unions were on the warpath after the Haldea Committee recommended privatisation of the board and laying off the staff. Such a move was not in the interests of the employees as well as the consumers since the recommendations had been tried in other states and had failed to make any discernible improvement in the power supply and generation situation. The federation said the proposed changes would only push up the cost of power, making it unaffordable for the common man. |
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Sikh scholar honoured Ludhiana, March 24 The Takht Jathedar, Bhai Balwant Singh Khalsa, while presenting a citation at a large congregation at Talwandi Sabo, applauded the services being rendered by Dr Alag for a pretty long time. The SGPC President, Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, presented a siropa, a memento and a sword to Dr Alag on behalf of the SGPC. Mr Badungar released the fourth and the fifth editions of Dr Alag's most valuable book ‘Gurmet Aute Nashe’ on the occasion. The book is in high demand. Dr Alag distributed the Alag Shabad Yug Trust's literature on the occasion. The scholar has also been honoured by the Canadian Government for his services. Mr Gurbax Singh Malhi, an MP and minister in Canada, congratulated Dr Alag on behalf of the Canadian Government. In the certificate of appreciation presented to Dr Alag it was mentioned that he had spread awareness about the Sikhism worldwide. The citation presented to Dr Alag bears emblem of all provinces of Canada along with the seal of the federal government. |
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‘Palledars’
stage dharna Ludhiana, March 24 The general secretary of the federation, Mr Amarnath Koomakalan, while addressing ‘palledars’ said if the government went ahead with the privatisation of food agencies, lakhs of labourers would be affected. He said the government was also contemplating to lower the rates of loading of gunny bags to 22 paise per bag from 47 paise per bag. He maintained it would ruin the ‘palledars’. He said if the government did not listen to ‘palledars’ they would be forced to intensify their agitation. |
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Prison
reform project launched Ludhiana, March 24 Ahsaas intends to market the products made by the jail inmates. The inmates are involved in knitting, embroidery, painting and stitching and their products could be marketed in exhibitions held in various cities of Punjab. The profits which accrue after sales would be distributed to the family members of the inmates. The special focus of Ahsaas is centred around violence against women and children. |
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Traffic
blocked on highway Mandi Gobindgarh, March 24 According to information available, the DTO, Fatehgarh Sahib, had launched a check-post (naka) near the Floating Restaurant, 3 km from here, today. The naka party is said to have signalled a Qualis car no. HR-01L-4011, which was coming from Ambala towards Ludhiana to stop. The party then chased the car with and succeed in intercepting it near Giania-Da-Dhaba, near main chowk, Mandi Gobindgarh. The security persons attached with Ms Raghbir Kaur Khera, DTO, Fatehgarh Sahib, allegedly gave a severe beating to the driver of the car and his arm was fractured. According to the driver, Bhushan Singh, he was not signalled to stop. |
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